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ABOUT ME :)

Years back I wud "cook" only Maggi noodles. So good a cook was I that a friend of mine would volunteer to do it for me :) But here am I, in a much upgraded version. Wat is tat which has driven me crazy to cook??? I think abt it so many times n finally landed with an answer. "I HAD TO COOK....!!!" Thou it started off like tis, now it has grown to be a passion, making me try some yummy exciting dishes. Here comes some of them juz for u :)

Wash gooseberry and then wipe it in clean towel and then slit gooseberry on the lines .

Heat a kadai and dry roast mustard seeds then roast the methi seeds ...and allow it to cool well and then powder it .

In the same kadai add the sesame oil and heat it for few minutes add gooseberry + curry leaves and fry for few mins to this add salt + turmeric powder + chili powder + hing powder +methi powder + mustard seeds powder mix it well and cook it for few mins. till the gooseberry becomes tender ...make sure you don't over cook it once done allow it to cool completely and then store it in glass bottle...Gooseberry pickle is ready .

Jan 20, 2015

You can make morkuzhambu with Lady's finger: Trim the edges and chop it lengthwise and fry it separately and add at last ..If using white pumplin : peel skin and boil it and then add it at last, if making with Pakoda Medhu Vadai or Aama Vadai make it and the add it to kuzhambu

Ingredients needed :

Okra - 6 or 7

Vada

Curry leaves - 1 string

Coriander leaves - little

Thick Curd - 2 cups

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.

Salt

Green chili - 1

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp.

Jeera - 1/4 tsp.

Urid dhal - 1/2 tsp.

Hing powder - little

Oil - 2 tsp. (Coconut oil Preferred)

To grind :

Raw rice - little

Grated Coconut - 1/2

Green chili - 2 or 3

Dhaniya / Coriander seeds - little

Jeera

Method :

Soak the given ingredients in "To grind" list for few mins and then drain excess water if any and then grind it to a coarse paste ..

In a bowl add thick sour curd + turmeric powder + Hing powder + grinded paste and mix it well ..Heat a kadai / pan add oil + Mustard seeds + urid dhal + jeera + curry leaves + lady's finger or Cook white pumpkin and keep it aside ...in the same pan add mixed curd and in slow flame cook it for few mins. it will start to boil and will come rising up then switch off the flame ...don't stir it immediately allow it to cool ...then add the cooked lady's finger or white pumpkin or pakodas along with tempered ingredients + salt and mix it and garnish with coriander leaves ...and you can heat it just before serving ..

Jan 19, 2015

The first day, Bhogi is celebrated in honour of Lord Indira. On this day all the houses are cleaned and decorated with kolams and they throw away all the old things in the house into a fire made of wood. In tamil it is said as " Palayana kazhithal puthuyana puguthal".The recipes made on bhogi day are as follows , generally on festival days we don't use Onions and garlic and Rasam is not made on all the 3 days of pongal. I made Morkuzhambu and Potato Curry.

The third day of Pongal is dedicated to cattle and is called as Mattu Pongal.

On this day Women offer prayers for the wellbeing of their brothers.The woman perform the ritual before bathing in the morning, they assemble in the courtyard and in the turmeric plant leaf they place the riceballs of Red, Yellow, white, (Rice is mixed with kumkum, manjal, curd respectively and made into small balls.) Sweet pongal, sugarcane and pray for the house and family of their brothers should Prosper.

Jan 13, 2015

Saw this recipe here have already tried it lot of times ..you can make it with brinjal + onions and once with brinjal + onions + drumstick . Both ways taste Yummy. Goes excellent with rice and potato curry. If you get round brinjal the recipe will taste better and if using it you can just slit the brinjal into four cuts and add it as whole brinjal and make it ...I have used the long brinjal Ingredients needed :

Brinjal - 5 or 6

Big Onion - 1

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.

Tamarind juice - 1 cup

Tomato - 1

To temper :

Oil - Gingelly oil (preferred)

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp.

Urid dhal - 1/2 tsp.

Methi seeds - 1/4 tsp.

Curry leaves - 1 string

Hing powder - little

To Grind :

Tomato - 1

Chana dhal - 2 tbsp.

Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp.

Jeera - 1/2 tsp.

Grated coconut - 1 cup

Small onion - 10

Sambhar powder

Method: Fry the ingredients given under "to grind" in one tsp. oil and allow it to cool well. Chop tomato roughly and take it in mixie and add sambhar powder to this add the fried ingredients and grind it into smooth paste ... if needed add little water and set aside. Chop brinjal and soak it in a bowl of water + little salt to avoid change in colour ..Peel the skin of onions and chop it lengthwise and chop tomatoes and keep it ready. Soak tamarind in bowl of water and extract juice . Heat a kadai add gingelly oil + mustard seeds + urid dhal + methi seeds + hing + big onions + salt + hing powder + turmeric powder and cook it for few minutes to this add chopped tomatoes and then add chopped brinjal and cook it for few more minutes, if using drumstick add it at this stage to this add tamarind water and allow it to boil well then add the grounded paste + water and cook it till raw smell goes .once done serve it hot with rice and potato curry.

Dry roast ingredients given under "to grind" and grind it into smooth paste

Method :

Clean , peel the skin and chop yam and raw banana into cubes and soak it in bowl of water in order to avoid change in colour. Heat a kadai + oil + mustard seeds + urid dhal + curry leaves + tamarind juice little + water+ add chopped yam +raw banana + turmeric powder and allow it cook well till almost done to this add the grinded paste and cook for few mins.You can have it with rice or even can use it as side dish .

Chop onions and bajji milagai lengthwise . In a bowl add besan flour + salt + chili powder + turmeric powder + hing and mix it well to this add chopped onions + bajji milagai and mix it again and set aside for few minutes

Heat kadai add oil for deep frying ..take the bajji flour mix and by now water would have oozed out from onion and made the bajji mix bit sticky ...now sprinkle rice flour and mix it well (if needed sprinkle little water) and take the batter little by little and drop it in hot oil and deep fry till done .

Preparation:
Spinach-cheese mixture:
In a wide pan, add 2 tbsp butter. Once it melts, add garlic finely chopped. Saute it for few seconds, and then add spinach (I used one full box) and continue saute. Add salt as required and sprinkle as much as Italian seasoning as you want to it. Once spinach is cooked, add goat cheese and mix it well with spinach. Goat cheese should become more like a white sauce and get well mixed with spinach. At this point, switch off your stove and move the pan off from heat.

Pasta sauce:
Mix Pasta sauce with 1.5 cups of water (I used one full bottle of Pasta sauce).

In a baking pan, spread good amount of pasta sauce mixture. Remember, we are using the no bake Lasagna sheets. So we need to maintain the lil too much watery consistency with the pasta sauce to allow the sheets to get cooked well. Now layer the lasagna sheets above the pasta sauce. Top it with the spinach cheese mix. Sprinkle some Parmesan-Mozeralla shredded cheese (or the 4 cheese mixture). Now again goes the pasta sauce, lasagna sheets, spinach mixture and cheese sprinkles. Keep repeating this as much as you want your layers to be. Top with shredded cheese finally. Double wrap the baking pan with some foil sheets. Make sure it is tightly sealed.

Preheat over to 425 degrees. Once the oven sets in the right temperature, bake the lasagna for a good 60 minutes or till it passes the clean fork test. Let it sit for 10 minutes before serving. Yummy yummm easy spinach Lasagna is all ready for tasting :)

Jan 5, 2015

This kuzhambu/Sambhar is made with combination of 5 or 7 winter vegetables along with Thiruvadirai kali on Thiruvadirai / Arudra darisanam . These are the vegetables used you can chose any vegetables as per your wish .

Heat a kadai and dry fry ingredients given in to grind list and allow it cool and grind it into fine powder and set aside. Pressure cook rice and keep it ready . Peel skin of small onions and chop brinjal lengthwise and immerse it in bowl of water . Heat a kadai and add ginglley oil + mustard seeds + urid dhal + methi seeds + cashews+ groundnuts + small onions + curry leaves and fry till done then add brinjal + salt and cook well to this add the grounded powder + turmeric powder and mix it well + gongura pickle + Salt and cook till done . Take a bowl and add the cooked rice to this add brinjal + onion mix and mix it well serve with Potato curry or chips

Jan 2, 2015

Chop dates roughly and grind it in mixer (use whip button) ...you will get coarse paste..chop badam , cashews ...take a pan add ghee and once hot add poppy seeds and fry for few minutes to this add ground dates and cook for few mins. to this add chopped nuts + elachi powder and mix it well and then switch off the flame ...and once it gets slight cool roll it in cylindrical shape and cover it with kitchen plastic wrap and keep it in fridge for 30 minutes. then cut it in circular shape and enjoy dates and nuts burfi ....Healthy sweet for kids .